More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Reid Hoffman
The auto industry got too comfortable. As Intel cofounder Andy Grove once famously proclaimed, “Only the paranoid survive.” Success, he meant, is fragile—and perfection, fleeting. The moment you begin to take success for granted is the moment a competitor lunges for your jugular. Auto industry executives, to say the least, were not paranoid.
Great quote about why being successful is not enough. It's just the beginning!
Netflix stays nimble and iterates, always in the test phase. We call this mind-set “permanent beta.”
How are you first, only, faster, better, or cheaper than other people who want to do what you’re doing in the world? What are you offering that’s hard to come by? What are you offering that’s both rare and valuable?
Make yourself valuable!
The person passionate about what he or she is doing will outwork and outlast the guy motivated solely by making money.
Passion VS Money
You remake yourself as you grow and as the world changes. Your identity doesn’t get found. It emerges.
Smart entrepreneurs know a product won’t make money if customers don’t want or need it, regardless of how slick its form and function (think of the Segway).
Think of thge Segway!
David Neeleman founded his own airline, JetBlue Airways, and served as CEO for the first seven years. During that time he flew his own airline at least once a week, worked the cabin, and blogged about his experience: “Each week I fly on JetBlue flights and talk to customers so I can find out how we can improve our airline,” he wrote.6
what VC and friend Marc Andreessen likes to say: Markets that don’t exist don’t care how smart you are. Similarly, it doesn’t matter how hard you’ve worked or how passionate you are about an aspiration: If someone won’t pay you for your services in the career marketplace, it’s going to be a very hard slog. You aren’t entitled to anything.
